Dudley and the Child of Karma
by athenawyn
Summary: The story begins when Dudley says good-bye to Harry at the beginning of The Deathly Hallows. It follows Dudley as he goes to University, gets married, and has a child. Dudley's daughter turns out to be a witch, and the results cause quite a strain on his newly created family. Dudley has to choose between love of his child or maintaining the life he has always known.


** Dudley and the Child of Karma **

Dudley woke up, his eyes popping open and ears perking up. A thumping and rocking noise echoes from a distance. He rolled over sleepily, and saw his flawless wife breathing softly beside him. As he glanced over at his wife, he saw a rocking horse entering their bedroom, thumping along, without a rider on board. Dudley shook his head ferociously, trying to shut out the image, and pretended he just imagined it. He took a slow, deep breath, closed his eyes, and began wondering how he had gotten to this place in life.

After shaking Harry's hand in the front hall of his childhood home eleven years ago, he had left and went into hiding with his parents. They changed locations frequently, never staying in one spot longer than a few weeks. Granted, he was the one who decided that in the end it was the smartest move to go with the people, the bodyguard ones, so that the dark cold figures Harry called dementors couldn't reach him anymore. He had quickly realized, however, that it wasn't, in his opinion, the best decision. Eyes constantly followed him and his parents, and he squirmed remembering being enclosed, away from school and his best friends, Piers and Gordon. His father, Vernon, had been perfectly capable of taking care of himself and the family for years previously. They had lived a perfectly normal life. With the bodyguards constant lurking, it had made it impossible for his father to work and tension became the new normal.

After the supposed "war", or "danger", or whatever, was over, Dudley's whole body had relaxed, thinking the guards would leave. Unfortunately, the Dursley's were quickly informed that the bodyguards would stay to protect the family of Harry Potter family because Harry was a hero. Dudley had furrowed his eyebrows and snorted in disbelief. _Sure Harry had once saved his life, but that was just luck, he couldn't actually save a whole world. _The fact that Harry's name was publicized on the news, made Dudley wince, mirroring his father's emotions exactly. Dudley had wanted to escape the bodyguards, escape the news, and live the life he had once known. Thus, Dudley enrolled in University. Despite the fact that he left the bodyguards and his family behind, he could never stop checking over his shoulder, as though others were prowling in the corners, watching him.

At University, he decided to go into Law Enforcement. _What better way to chase others and make sure people just acted normal, he already had too much excitement in a lifetime, _he thought. Plus he had always wanted a real gun after his parents had given him that air riffle for his 12th , he had been surprised to find that he needed to stay up late, flipping through course material, and actually writing a paper or two. Sure, he never really paid attention in classes and he wasn't a top student, but his parents still thought he was "the perfect little Dudders" he had always been, so his marks were never very important.

Dudley had a term left and found out he needed one more credit to graduate. It didn't have to be anything particular, just needed a bloody course. He decided to pick up a woodworking class, a manly class, standard, and easy. The first day, he walked in and began to sweat, his eyes darting frantically around, as he saw only females in the room. He had sat down, ducked his head and stared at the floor. When the professor walked in, he was further perplexed as he saw a gray haired woman, slowly sauntering to the front of the room. Following her into the class was a striking young lady, who walked purposively, her chin held high. He later discovered she was the teacher's assistant.

As soon as the older professor opened her mouth, Dudley stomach had sunk. "Welcome to toy making class, where we will learn to make wooden animals, blocks, doll houses, rocking horses, etc."

Dudley groaned internally, he conceded that those all were wooden objects, but he was expecting to make cabinets and desks, not girly toys. After a few classes, though, Dudley began receiving praise from his professor. He would never admit it to anyone, but the class was rather enjoyable. His large hands, wore down, calloused, and created flawless toys. _Still_ _what a useless skill, out of all the talents a man could have, toy making is definitely on the bottom of the list. _He thought.

About three weeks into class, the day began ordinarily, but Dudley's stature straightened when he that saw the teacher's assistant had graciously brought pudding. Dudley had always loved food. There had been a while, when he was much younger, where his mother had tried to put him on a diet. He had shuddered thinking back to the breakfasts of quartered grapefruits. At University, however, Dudley was on his own, and had taken full advantage of the opportunity to eat everything in sight.

After tasting the pudding (which was exactly like his mother's) Dudley paid closer attention to the teacher's assistant. Previously, he recognized her beauty, but there were plenty of pretty girls in the world, but a woman who was beautiful and could cook was a real winner. He soon learned this young woman's name was Cynara. He found himself spending way too much time staring at her straight, velvet, brown hair, that fell just below her collarbone. She was very attractive, in a proper, perfected sort of way. Her posture was always impeccable and her tall, skinny figure was the picture of confidence. Dudley scrambled to find reasons to talk to her.

"Bring any pudding today?" Dudley grunted, in his first attempt at conversation, a few days after her baking was brought in.

Cynara had simply glanced over at him, curtly shook her head, and went back to the conversation she had been having.

His second attempt was, debatably, more successful. He had beckoned Cynara over, claiming to be having trouble making a dollhouse. She politely assisted, sanding down the ceiling, and removing extra nails, but then moved away once more.

Dudley liked to think that he won Cynara over with his strong, manly disposition, but in reality, it was probably just luck that she began reciprocating his attention. He had to stay after class one day and she stayed with him when the professor left.

"Which way are you going?" Dudley had asked as they finally left the room.

"Kensington tube stop." Cynara replied.

Dudley had sighed and his mouth turned up, which he quickly tried to hide from her. He was heading to the same place.

"Where'd you grow up?" Dudley asked, desperately trying to continue the conversation.

"I was raised with my mum and dad in the suburbs. I have no siblings so all the attention was always on me"

"Me too, I never had a brother or sister. Where did your parents work?"

"My dad worked for a large cooperation and made loads of money so my mum just stayed home."

"Same here, Dad worked for Grunnings Drill Company. Do you like university?"

"Oh yes, I love organizing events for my secret society."

"What society?"

"It's a secret for a reason. But I will tell you this much, it is only for the elite members of society. No one with speech impediments or less than perfect eyebrows can attend."

"My kind of girl," was Dudley's last response before parting at the tube station.

After their interaction, he knew he had her attention. He wasn't sure why she found him intriguing, but he didn't argue. She was conventional and valued normalcy; she was everything Dudley needed in his life. They started to casually grab lunch after class some days, and eventually he asked her on proper dates. In June, he graduated and though it seemed sudden, asked Cynara to move in with him. She refused, however, stating, "it wasn't proper to live together unwed."

He was disappointed and had departed from London to live with his parents once more. By this time, they had found a new home in the countryside. His father had returned to work, and his mother made new friends with the neighbors. She tended to spend the majority of her time gossiping with them. Dudley felt discouraged, he had his degree and wanted a job, eventually, but still he couldn't complain about the comfort of his parents spoiling. Finally, with many hearty pats on the back from his father, and countless tears from his mother, he decided to propose to Cynara, a few weeks in to the summer.

It was an extravagant proposal, in the gardens outside of Cynara's favorite expensive restaurant. He knelt down, though it took a while due to his large stature, and asked for her hand in marriage. She had tried to stay composed, but he was fairly certain he had seen her faint smile and a glisten in her eyes as she accepted. The engagement lasted a year. Dudley lazed around while Cynara threw herself into wedding planning, screaming and tormenting workers if a tiny detail was out of place.

Their wedding had been grand. It took place outside her grandparents' large estate, the sun had shined down, and a gentle wind had blown on that July day. All of Cynara's family had attended and all of his family had shown up too. Well, all of his family that he spoke to, Harry was not invited, nor did he know it was occurring. Even though he and Harry kept in touch through Christmas cards, Dudley somehow forgot to send him a wedding invitation. He would see him when he had to, but he would like to avoid the occurrence for as long as possible. _Thank goodness_, _that part of his life was finally pushed to the side, almost completely forgotten._ Aunt Marge had presented him with cuff links, right before the wedding and he had puffed out his chest proudly, when he wore them down the aisle.

Cynara and Dudley had then finally moved in together. They bought a home in a large, upscale neighborhood, where every lawn was perfectly green, and not a weed was out of place. Their home had a large yard, and the front porch was the poshest in the area. Dudley quickly found a job, and spent his days tracking down local gits. If anyone put a toe out of line, he found out. At nights, Dudley enjoyed sharing his stories of exploiting culprits with Cynara.

Dudley brought home plenty of money each month and Cynara was wealthy to start, so it was unnecessary for her to work as well. Cynara, however, was not a complacent woman, and so she decided to work at home as an event planner and attained for herself a prestigious reputation. Many large cooperation's consulted her.

About three years after they had been married, they began to discuss children. Since neither of them had siblings, it had been easy to agree that they only wanted to have one child. Dudley really wanted a little boy, to play Mega-Mutilation Three with and teach to be the biggest most feared kid in the neighborhood. Cynara, on the other hand, had longed for a little girl, who she could paint nails with and teach to break men's hearts as she aged.

Shortly after they discussed having a baby, Cynara became pregnant. The pregnancy was tough on both of them. Dudley loved Cynara and hated seeing her emotions drastically change each day due to hormones and weight gain. Dudley did enjoy having an excuse to buy a little extra food though. He never complained about having three burgers instead of two, in order to make Cynara feel less "like a cow" as she often claimed she was.

After 20 weeks of pregnancy, Dudley and Cynara were informed that their child was to be a girl and Dudley's body tensed, as he knew he would never be able to connect with the little girl. She would always be her mum's child.

Next, Cynara and Dudley became obsessed with picking a baby name. He had always dreamed of naming his child Vernon, after his father. However, that would be just cruel to give a girl a boy's name. They did not want anything out of the ordinary, and Dudley wanted to make sure his daughter was prim, proper, and as commonplace as possible.

Cynara went into labor two weeks early, before a name had been agreed on. In the ambulance ride to the hospital, machines beeped, and sirens wailed, as they both screamed and argued, still debating on a name.

"If only we were having a boy, I'd name him Vernon, after my father," Dudley said loudly.

"Well get over it, we've been over this a thousand times, she's a girl, just accept it," Cynara replied.

"Fine, what about Tulip? That's pretty."

"Absolutely not, that's hideous." "I'd settle for Pansy though."

"My child is not going to be a pansy."

"Fine, I don't know then, this child just won't have name."

Cynara went into labor before a name had been decided on. As soon as Dudley saw the baby, he knew what her name would be.

"Veronica"

"Bloody hell, fine, I don't even care anymore," Cynara exhaled, giving up.

Dudley saw Cynara's sweaty forehead and shaking hands. He could tell she was exhausted from the birth, so that may have made it easier, but he knew in his heart she respected his love for his dad, and therefore he had won the name debate. Veronica, simple and pretty, slept in Dudley's arms in the hospital room as he glanced around and looked forward to raising her with Cynara.

Dudley was brought back to the present by the consistent thumping noise near his bedside. With his head still on his pillow, he saw that he was face to face with Veronica's rocking horse. The thumping was its continual rocking on the bedroom floor, and its eyes seemed to be beckoning him to join some sort of childish game. Dudley probably would have leapt in shock, but this was not the first time strange things had happened in the Dursley household. Veronica's toys had a strange habit of moving on their own, and it seemed that every time Veronica was placed in her crib for time-out, she would miraculously escape and be playing in her floor when Dudley came to check on her.

Cynara rolled over in the bed, and that did make Dudley jump. While Dudley may have his suspicions on Veronica's odd behavior, he was definitely keen on keeping this information away from his wife. Luckily, Dudley had been the one to witness the majority of Veronica's antics, and if Cynara did pick up on the occasional straying from the norm, Dudley was quick to explain it away. Much like his mother, Cynara did not approve of anything out of the ordinary, and Dudley highly doubted Cynara would see her daughter's talents as a good type of "special."

Dudley remained frozen on the bed until he was certain Cynara was still asleep. Then very carefully, Dudley eased himself out of bed (which was no small feat considering his great width), and scooped up the still moving rocking horse. Once it was in his arm Dudley tiptoed out of the room, down the hall, and into his daughter's nursery.

Dudley found Veronica leaning over the edge of the crib, her round face smiling, and her brown hair in pigtails. When she saw her father, she clapped her chubby hands. "Play, Daddy, Play!"

Dudley placed the toy in its designated spot, and then turned his attention to his daughter. Lovingly he tucked her back into the crib, and covered her in blankets. As he kissed her forehead, he said in the strictest voice he could muster. "No more magic. No magic in this house." Then despite himself, Dudley added in a desperate tone "Please . . ."

Although Dudley was known for his Dursley-ish behavior, and a temper that he had obtained from his father, his heart could not help but melt when around little Veronica. This was how Dudley found himself at the zoo on his daughter's sixth birthday. Dudley tended to avoid animals and anything associated with them ever since the pig tail incident of his youth, but recently Veronica had become obsessed with monkeys. In fact, as the family of three pulled into a parking space, Veronica was sitting in the back squeezing her stuffed monkey so hard that its little plastic eyes were bulging.

"You know," said Cynara as she checked her make-up and fluffed her hair one last time in the car mirror, "I haven't been to the zoo since I was a teenager."

"I don't think I've been since my eleventh birthday" Dudley responded his voice trailing off near the end. He had suddenly acquired a sinking feeling in his stomach, much like someone had dropped a rock . . . or a boa constrictor in it.

Despite his initial fears, the day proved to be remarkably fun. The family had seen a variety of exotic animals, and now it was time to end the day with the main attraction: the monkeys. Veronica was so excited she was doing more of an enthusiastic bounce than walking.

When they reached the zoo's little squirrel monkeys, Veronica was mesmerized. Dudley was only temporarily distracted from his daughter when Cynara's cell phone rang. Cynara answered the phone, mouthed the words "business call" and took a few steps away from the cages to schmooze the client. Dudley turned his attention back to his daughter and nearly collapsed. Veronica was no longer looking at the cages, instead she was cuddling and murmuring to her stuffed monkey, only it was no longer stuffed. The toy animal had been replaced with one of the zoo's live squirrel monkeys. Dudley was frozen where he stood. No one else at the zoo had seemed to notice the abnormality yet. As he shook like a leaf trying to get his Dursley brain to formulate a plan, he heard a loud scream in his ear. He turned around just in time to see Cynara faint on the concrete floor, phone still in hand, eyes locked on her daughter. Dudley was panicked; this would be a hard one to explain away.

Dudley woke suddenly on Veronica's eighth Christmas. He had been having a rather graphic dream of moneys leaping through their zoo cages and chasing him into the reptile house. He lay in silence for a few moments calming down. Despite the occasional nightmare Dudley still suffered, the entire zoo incident had gone off remarkably well, all things considered. When Veronica had saw her mother hit the floor she had released the monkey and rushed to her mum's side. Cynara had created such a distraction that no one else had even noticed the real monkey the Dursley's daughter had been holding. The zoo had paid for the trip to the hospital to treat Cynara's concussion, and Cynara appeared extremely embarrassed when she woke up. She had haughtily refused to mention what had caused her fainting in the first place. When Dudley pushed for information, Cynara informed him that her eyes had merely played a trick on her, and that it was probably his fault anyway. She had been stressed with her event planning and mothering, and Dudley should have been spending more time pampering her.

After the zoo, Dudley was pleased to see Veronica's abilities hardly made any more appearances. Once Veronica had begun primary school, she had become engrossed in her small group of friends and her class. Veronica was in fact a very popular girl. She had the beauty of her mother, but her personality resembled neither of her parents. It seemed their terrible traits had cancelled each other out, and created a rather agreeable child. The only Dursley-ish behavior that Veronica seemed to maintain was her absolute love for presents. Her father taught her to count her gifts on her birthday just as he had, and gift giving was the only time Veronica was known to collapse into what were once Dudley-like tantrums. With happiness surrounding her, Veronica seemed to have gained control of her magical accidents, and had no reason to slip into old habits. As of late, Dudley had even began dreaming of Veronica attending Chmeltings, the sister school of his beloved Smeltings.

So that particular Christmas morning, the fear in the pit of Dudley's very large stomach had nothing at all to do with his daughter. Rather, he was dreading the arrival of his one and only first cousin.

Dudley had not seen the Potter family since the birth of Veronica. Dudley often considered forgetting Harry entirely, but anytime he thought of losing his cousin's telephone number or not sending him a birthday card, Dudley was haunted by the memory of Harry rescuing him when he felt the world would never be happy again. He also remembered the words _"I don't think you're a waste of space," _which seemed to have come from another boy a lifetime ago. When overcome by moments such as these, Dudley found himself acting in the most peculiar way, almost even kindly. This most recent bout of kindness had come after Dudley and Cynara had watched a documentary on the migratory patterns of snowy owls. Without realizing what he was doing, Dudley had called up the cell phone number Harry (Dudley would later learn that Harry was one of the few wizards who not only owned, but also knew how to operate a muggle phone) had written in a Christmas card. The Potter family was stopping by for the briefest of moments that morning before the Dursley's headed over to Vernon and Petunia's for Christmas dinner.

As Dudley tried to convince himself he had done the right thing by inviting his cousins over, he rose from bed, dressed quickly, and went downstairs to make a phone call before the rest of his family awoke. Harry answered on the second ring "Happy Christmas Big D!"

"Uhh . . . well, yes. Happy Christmas to you too. I was just umm … calling because…" Dudley stuttered through the conversation not wanting to even mention the abnormality he was about to bring up.

"Are you calling about later? To be honest it is a bit of a madhouse around here. We are still opening presents, and with three kids, it has turned into quite a hectic experience (almost on cue Dudley heard what sounded like an explosion and a female voice exasperatedly saying 'I told George the last thing James needed was rockets, honestly'). It will probably be another couple hours before we can head over. But don't worry, Ginny and I will be doing side-along apparitions with the kids at the end of your street. None of your neighbors will see a thing."

Dudley had no clue what an appar-anything was, but he took this mention as a perfect opportunity to get to his point. "That is exactly what I wanted to call about. We are respectable people in this neighborhood and I will not be having ANY magic in my own home. Do you understand me?! My wife and child do not need to be exposed to any such foolishness!"

To his frustration, Harry chuckled. "Right you are Dudders. See you soon!"

With this slight reassurance, Dudley was better able to enjoy his holiday. In fact, it was one of the best Christmases he could remember. Veronica was adorable in her princess pajamas as she flitted from present to present squealing with delight. Meanwhile, Cynara was thrilled with her new label maker, and sat on the sofa excitedly printing off labels that she was going to use to organize all the jewelry and make-up on her vanity. As Veronica ripped open her last present, she let out a little cry. "Mummy, Daddy this isn't the doll I wanted."

Veronica sniffled and looked at her distracted mum. "Mummy, I wanted the one wearing the pink dress not the blue one." Tears were sliding down the young girl's face now.

Cynara was consumed with her make-up labels, and distractedly waved her daughter away. "It doesn't matter. Go play with your new doll."

Veronica was crying in earnest now. Hating seeing his daughter's tears, Dudley was getting ready to comfort her, when he noticed something strange out of the corner of his eyes. Cynara was starting to swell.

In a split second, their entire world changed. Dudley was having flashbacks of a fateful meal with his Aunt Marge some twenty-one years ago. Cynara went from confused to hysterical as she continued to balloon outward and upward. Veronica seemed shocked at what she had caused and began crying even more loudly. Dudley tried to pull the now floating Cynara down again, but was almost lifted from the floor himself. Dudley pleaded with Veronica to fix the situation, but Veronica, frightened and confused, shrank back into the Christmas tree. Amidst the screams of Cynara, the pleas of Dudley, and the tears of Veronica the doorbell went unheard.  
Consequently, it was a surprise when Cynara began deflating before Dudley's eyes, and landed rather softly on her original position on the couch. Dudley whipped around to see his cousin (hair as untamed as ever) with his wand out and pointed at Cynara. Behind him, the entire Potter family stood in the living room with hideous handmade matching Christmas sweaters on. Cynara appeared to be in shock, Dudley was gaping open-mouthed at Harry, and Veronica was still sniffling by the tree. The Potter family leapt into action. Ginny scooped up Veronica and took her to the kitchen for a talk. Harry pulled Dudley aside. "Blimey Dudley, I had no clue, and by the look on your wife's face she didn't either. Ginny will explain a little bit to Veronica, but you have to tell your wife. I will take the kids in another room, but I will be around if you need anything."

Suddenly it was just Dudley and Cynara in the room. Cynara stuttered as her voice finally returned to her, "Whh . . . what just happened? It was almost like . . ."

"Magic" Dudley finished for her. It was time for Cynara to know the whole truth. In order to do that Dudley Dursley knew he had to start with an eleventh birthday some twenty-three years earlier.

When Cynara walked out that fateful Christmas hysterically screaming about how she wanted nothing to do with a "special" child, Dudley thought for sure she would be back. Even if her love for him was not strong enough to bring her home, he thought for sure her motherly love for Veronica would cause her to return, but it didn't.

Dudley had never hit such a low in his life. Time went from a week to a month to a year, without any word from Cynara. Veronica became more pale, quiet, and fragile by the day, and Dudley knew changes had to be made. Dudley quit his job in law enforcement, and began working from home. Dudley started making his own line of wooden toys. While it never quite made as much as his previous job, it did make ends meet.

When Cynara left, she had made sure to go talk to Dudley's parents and accuse them of hiding abnormalities in the family from her. To Dudley's horror both Vernon and Petunia whole-heartedly supported Cynara's hatred of magic, and cut themselves off from Dudley and his daughter. Dudley kept reassuring himself that the man he had looked up to his entire life would eventually come around, despite the evidence against such delusions. Meanwhile, Petunia seemed to feel guiltier about the separation. Around birthdays and Christmas Dudley would always find a hastily scribbled card and a wad of money in the mailbox in handwriting that strongly resembled his mother's penmanship.

Times were difficult, but Dudley was determined to provide the best he could for his daughter. He took up cooking classes, and dropped the number of burned dinners from every other night to once a week. He even mastered the art of cleaning house. Soon the family of two fell into a predictable routine. Dudley would cook Veronica breakfast, take her to school, and then spend the day working on the toy line. When Veronica returned home they would do the household chores together, Dudley would help his daughter with her homework (though this mostly consisted of grunting and nodding), he would fix a meal for his daughter, then tuck her into bed.

Veronica's magical abilities still made occasional appearances. At first, every incident ended with scolding and grounding, but slowly these infractions were becoming a more acceptable part of Dursley life. The change began one night when Dudley found himself turning purple in the face with frustration. He had been trying to fix Veronica's hair for her school pageant for over an hour, and had only succeeded in making her look like a very young Medusa. Dudley turned away to pick up yet another styling product, and when he turned back to Veronica her hair was curled and pulled up perfectly. This magic received no punishment and no response other than a grunt of relief from Dudley.

"Happy birthday princess! I can't believe you're already eleven years old!" Dudley nearly shouted as he barged into Veronica's room and woke her with a start. Veronica blinked at him, groggy from being awakened so suddenly. Finally, it appeared as if the fog of sleep lifted from her as she stretched and grinned.

"Thanks Daddy!" Veronica said mid-yawn as Dudley wrapped her up in a hug.

"What's for breakfast?"

Dudley knew the question was coming, as it did every morning, and he was ready.

"Your favorite, of course!"

"Loads of eggs and sausage and toast and beans?" Veronica was bouncing from foot to foot in excitement. Dudley smiled as he reached for her hand and led her out of his bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen.

"If that's what the birthday girl wants, that's what the birthday girl gets!"

The presents were already stacked on the kitchen table, wrapped roughly in pretty pink paper with purple bows. Dudley had gotten some odd glances at the store for buying such girly supplies, but he was used to that by now.

"One, two, three, four..." Veronica carefully picked each present up and counted them. "Nine, ten, eleven! That's one more than last year!" She was eyed her loot greedily trying to decide which present to open first.

"Wait until you are done with breakfast to open your presents." Dudley was at the stove cooking Veronica's special birthday breakfast. When the eggs and sausage were almost ready to take off the stove, Dudley asked Veronica to get out plates for them. He flipped the eggs and sausage from the pan to the plates with showy grandeur like a master chef, and Veronica clapped, humoring him as she always did. He had to spice up his every day cooking somehow, for his own sanity.

They had just sat down to eat when Dudley heard the mail slot open and mail was pushed through. He glanced at Veronica, who had already stuffed an entire link of sausage in her mouth, and put his fork down to go get the mail. As he rounded the corner out of the kitchen, he noticed a peculiar looking envelope on top of the pile at the door. As he grew nearer, he saw it was addressed to Veronica in dark green scroll. He froze.

The realization had hit him like a freight train and he immediately flashed back to the last time he had seen a letter like this. His dad had tried to keep the letters from coming for days, nailing the mail slot, moving Harry to the room Dudley had used for toys, and finally after hundreds of letters shot out of the fireplace, his dad had packed the entire family in the car and drove to a little shack to keep the letters from getting to them. That was Harry's eleventh birthday.

"_Of course!_" Dudley thought as he bent down, hands trembling, and picked up the letter. He held it carefully, as though it would burst into flames any second. He knew whom it was from, and his stomach turned at the idea. But he also knew, from first-hand experience, what would happen if he ignored it, and he didn't want to have a pig's tail again.

"_My daughter… A witch…"_ His breathing quickened as panic set in._ "No. I will not stand for it. She will go to private school like I did and the magic will be suppressed. I will not stand for having a trained witch in my house! She is a Dursley, and Dursleys are NOT magic!" _His thoughts froze. An old repressed memory had surfaced that Dudley had locked away years ago. _"Dursleys are not magic..."_ His thoughts repeated carefully. Slowly shaking his head, a dejected look washed over his face. His shoulders relaxed and slumped against the wall for support. He remembered again when Harry had gotten his letter, and the secret was finally revealed that he was a wizard. After that huge man had taken Harry from them, Dudley had waited patiently, at the door every morning for the mail to get his own letter to Hogwarts. It never came. _"I wanted to be magic…"_ He remembered with sorrow, _"but I wasn't. This could be my chance to at least see more into their world… it could be Veronica's chance to become great and powerful, and have a better life… Dursleys aren't magic, but Veronica is." _The weight of his burden was lifted off of his chest as he realized that his own daughter is magic, so it can't be evil, it had to be good too.

He studied the letter in his hands for a moment, turning it over and over, letting his decision sink in and become solid. After a moment, he slowly shook his head and smiled. He picked up the rest of the mail, keeping Veronica's letter on top.

He walked back into the kitchen with a new curiosity forming for the contents of the envelope addressed to his daughter. Veronica looked up from her now empty plate as he walked in and was just about to ask if she could start opening presents when she noticed the odd-looking letter in his hands.

"What is that?" She asked.

"This..." He paused looking again at the letter, deciding once and for all that he really wanted her to have it, and that he was ready for the outcome. "... is for you, on your eleventh birthday."

He handed her the letter. She took it, wide-eyed, and turned it over in her hands. She stopped when she saw the pretty seal on the back with a big letter H. In one swift motion, she tore the envelope open, pulled the letter out, and began to read.

Dudley watched her carefully as he saw her face go from confused, to excited, to surprised, and back through the cycle again. He had an idea of what she was reading.

"There's a school for people like me? A special school?" She squealed in excitement. "Ginny never told me about a school! Oh, Daddy can I go? Please Daddy?"

Dudley looked lovingly at his daughter as she sat on the edge of her seat, still clinging to the letter, waiting desperately for a reply. He never had been very good at telling her no.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Seeing as Veronica was too busy daydreaming about her new school, Dudley got up to see who it was. He looked through the peephole and couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of relief. Someone had just arrived who could help answer all of Veronica's budding questions. For once, Dudley was actually somewhat happy to see Harry.

Harry walked in and gave Dudley a slight nod before heading around the corner and glancing in the kitchen at Veronica. Dudley moved beside him and watched Veronica re-reading her letter and looking over her list of supplies for her first year at Hogwarts. Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good. She got her letter. For a moment I was worried I would be standing on your doorstep looking at a nailed shut mail slot." Harry cast a sheepish grin towards Dudley, who could only let out a small chuckle in reply.

"Cousin Harry!" Veronica had finally snapped out of her daydream.

"Hi Veronica." Harry said as he walked to the table and sat down in the chair across from her. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you. Umm . . . Harry, did you go to this school... Hogwarts?"

Dudley found himself moving towards the table to sit down as Harry began to explain Hogwarts to Veronica. Numbly, he watched as Veronica became more and more animated with excitement, her grin going from ear to ear.

"_My daughter is a witch... This is really happening... She can do magic... She's one of them... She's going to a whole bloody school filled with them._.." His thoughts were racing. He closed his eyes and steadied his breathing, trying desperately to calm down.

"How do I get all my school supplies? I don't know where to buy any of this." Dudley opened his eyes to see Veronica gazing at Harry, brows furrowed, obviously trying to remember if the local store sold wizarding textbooks.

Harry's eyes glinted and his face split into a smile. "You have to go to Diagon Alley. That's where you can get all of your things, but muggles—ah sorry Dudley..." He stopped to glance at Dudley, whose jaw hung slack, eyes unfocused, and clearly could not comprehend a word Harry was saying. "Non-wizards cannot see this place if they don't know where to look. It's hidden from them, but they can still get in with a little help."

Veronica, now eager by the prospect of shopping in a new place, clapped her hands together and squealed. Dudley, snapped out of his daze, grunted and wearily turned to Harry.

"This place, that what you call 'muggles' can't see... How will I know where to find it to take her to get her things?" Dudley spoke slowly and deliberately, still trying to regain balance from the whirlwind of events, and his uncharacteristic willingness to accept them, that had taken place so far that morning.

Sensing his reservations about going to Diagon Alley, Harry hesitantly shifted his gaze from Dudley to Veronica and back again before suggesting he could take Veronica. Dudley feverishly agreed, while he had finally accepted his daughter's fate, he couldn't imagine spending a day in a world filled with Harrys. He shuddered at the thought.

The date was set for Harry to take Veronica to get her school supplies the following Thursday. The week had flown by, much to Dudley's dismay. Even though Veronica now knew that she was to go to Hogwarts, Dudley didn't let it really sink in until she left with Harry for Diagon Alley. Harry had suddenly shown up in the living room suddenly at eight o'clock sharp that morning, and after he and Veronica had left out of the front door, Dudley had spent a good hour pacing the living room where Harry had appeared trying to figure out how he had done it. Dudley concluded that he must have left the front door unlocked the night before and not heard Harry come in as he plopped, or thudded rather, down on the old brown beaten couch. As he sat there in silence, it finally sank in.

"_My daughter is a witch. I cannot change what she is no matter how hard I try..."_ His thoughts wandered off into what his daughter would actually be able to do once she had some proper training. Suddenly, he found himself intrigued at the unlimited things that his daughter would be able to do with magic. Relaxed and happy for the first time in a long time, he reached for the remote and clicked on the TV to watch one of his shows.

He was still in a good mood later that day even after doing the chores he hated the most, when Veronica and Harry walked in the front door. Veronica was carrying a large brass cage with a tawny owl in one hand, and a long dark wand in the other. She set the cage on the kitchen table and opened the latch, letting the owl fly freely as Dudley watched in awe. The owl circled the TV and couch, then landed gracefully on Veronica's outstretched arm, and began pruning its feathers.

"Daddy, this is Daisy." The owl made a small motion that looked like a bow to Dudley. He slowly approached it, trying hard to be brave, and shakily reached his hand out towards Daisy. She turned her head, and he ever so gently began to stroke her feathers. Dudley exhaled the breath he had been holding since Veronica had walked through the door.

"How was your trip?" Dudley asked, genuinely curious as to what she thought of seeing more people like her, as they settled into the living room. Harry sat in the recliner, while Veronica sat in the floor with Daisy and all of her new things lain out in front of her, and Dudley sat on the couch in his usual indented spot.

"It was great! We went to the pet store and I picked out my owl, so I can write to you during the year. When we got my textbooks, a book that had teeth almost bit me! And then we got my wand, the man helping me was very old but he said this wand fit me really well. Harry took me into the candy shop and the joke shop and we had such a good time trying all the flavors of Bertie Bott's every flavor beans and..." Veronica was talking faster than Dudley had ever seen her. She was happier than he had ever seen her too, and suddenly, his good mood disappeared. His bemused grin turned into a sour frown, he folded his arms across his chest and leaned back on the couch, becoming increasingly cross as Veronica rambled on and on about how great of a day she had with Harry.

"… And Harry said he would even take me to King's Cross station to board the train with James and Albus!" Veronica said, finally pausing long enough to take a breath.

"Harry will not be taking you to King's Cross station." Dudley tried to stay calmly despite his scowl. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of you and taking you to the station myself!" his face was turning red. "I have been taking care of you since your mother left and just because you are a witch does not mean you get to just leave me and join Harry's family. YOU ARE MY DAUGHTER! I WILL TAKE YOU TO THE BLOODY TRAIN!" He was shaking, face as red as the trickles of blood coming from where his nails had dug into his hands from clenching his fists. Veronica face went from confused to frightened to angry. Looking very much like the upset girl from three Christmases ago, she ran from the room her wand and Daisy in tow.

As she disappeared around the corner, Dudley turned to Harry, feverish rage waiting to be released. But as his harsh gaze landed on the recliner in which Harry had been sitting, he saw that it was empty. Dudley searched the house, fists still clenched, until he realized that Harry was gone. And he liked it better that way.

On September 1st, Dudley packed up the car with Veronica's trunk of things. Veronica was sitting in the passenger seat bouncing with excitement. Dudley climbed in the driver's seat, and Veronica immediately began chattering nonstop. He was glad that she was finally done giving him the cold shoulder for blowing up at her the day she had gone to Diagon Alley with Harry, and for the past week she had been talking more than usual, either from nerves or excitement, or both, Dudley slowly realized.

As he drove to King's Cross Station, he couldn't help but think he would miss her. He was used to having her in the house, and wasn't really sure what he was going to do with her gone. Maybe he could pick up a new hobby, or start dating again now that he was going to have so much free time.

They arrived at the station far too quickly for Dudley's liking. He wasn't quite ready to say goodbye. He slowly unloaded the car, Veronica dancing around him like she used to do when she was younger and he had let her have too much candy. He pulled her trunk for her as she carried Daisy, her wand tucked in her pocket. He watched her face light up as they walked through the station's entrance, and he couldn't help but be thankful she got her mother's looks.

Veronica was walking briskly, and Dudley was breathing heavily trying to keep up with her. They approached Platform 9_. "Almost there,"_ Dudley was sweating trying keep up with his daughter and pull her trunk, _"it should be right… here." _But it wasn't. Veronica had stopped abruptly, and Dudley had to quickly swerve to keep from running over her. He looked back at the platform they had just walked by, and then slowly turned his head to look at the platform in front of them.

"Platform 9 and Platform 10… Where in the bloody hell is this Platform 9 ¾?" He snarled, still struggling to catch his breath. His face was red from having to walk so fast, but it was getting redder by the second as a realization slowly crept across his mind. Maybe Harry was finally paying him back for the abuse he had suffered in his childhood. "This is a cruel joke! There is no Platform 9 and ¾ because there is no Hogwarts!"

He was fuming, foaming at the mouth in rage. Veronica looked on apprehensively, and tears began forming in her now dimmed eyes. Dudley realized his daughter's dreams had just been crushed, and his heart began to melt. He would deal with Harry later, he knew how to punish him—he had loads of practice from when they were younger—but he could not stand to see his daughter be hurt. He bent down to comfort her when he heard what sounded like an owl screeching behind him. As he whirled around, he saw them.

"Mummy, look at this beautiful red leaf! It looks just like the kind from our tree outside the house!" said a small girl with hair matching the fiery red leaf. Behind the girl came a middle-aged woman with long brunette frizzy hair, a small boy hanging on the woman's robes and an older man about Dudley's age. Seeing the girl at the window, the bushy haired woman called "Rose, don't Dilly Dally we've got a train to catch, remember?!"

When the girl remained in place, the woman whirled around to the man who appeared to be her husband "Ron can you go motivate _your_ daughter, we're going to be late and Platform 9 and ¾ is not going to wait on us forever!"

The phrase "Platform 9 and ¾" rang in Dudley's ears and he suddenly grew more interested in the little girl and her family with fire for hair.

"Hermione, why is it that Rose is _my _daughter whenever she doesn't listen to you, but in every other instance she is yours indefinitely?" Ron asked.

"If she were _my_ child she would already be in McGonagall's classroom with her schedule memorized and spell books half read, but _your _childseems to be stuck on studying the small leaf glued to the window!"

At the words "classroom" and "spell books" Dudley's suspicion that this was a family that could help him, was fully realized. Remembering the pride that had led him to bring Veronica to the platform without assistance, Dudley did not approach the family, but rather used his law enforcement stealth to move closer to them in hopes of overhearing how to get to the Hogwarts Express.

The redheaded father had finally pried Rose away from the window, and caught up with Hermione and the younger child. Hermione glanced at her watch, and nearly leapt in fright. "We only have ten minutes until the train leaves! We need to cross the barrier now."

Dudley thought Rose looked about Veronica's age and appeared both nervous and excited. He was relieved to see that Ron recognized this too.

"We'll go together," said Ron. Little Rose nodded as she grabbed for her father's large hand.

"On three," Hermione yelled.

Dudley held his breathe and leaned in. As long as he watched closely, he would be able to take his daughter to the platform without any help. Much to his surprise the man started his daughter running at the solid brick partition. Dudley's police instincts kicked in and he was about to arrest this Ron fellow for child abuse, when to his surprise, the man and child went straight through the brick wall.

Dudley's jaw was suddenly three inches lower than where it normally sat, and remained open as Veronica cried in amazement, "DID YOU JUST SEE THAT?! They just ran into a wall and POOF they were gone! How did all these people not to see that?! Can I do that?!"

Veronica's exclamations drew the attention of the bushy haired woman. As Dudley's jaw returned to a normal position, the woman made a face that hinted that she recognized him. Hermione began walking towards the two of them with her young son still in hand. Dudley watched as Veronica broke her father's grasp and ran to meet the new woman. Still trying to recover his senses he called after her, "Veronica Wait..," but she was already standing before Mrs. Weasley.

"Excuse me," Veronica said.

"Hello, dear," Dudley overheard as he rushed to catch up with his daughter. He was already exhausted from his previous exertion, and still lugging the trunk. "First time at Hogwarts? Rose is new too" She pointed to the wall referencing the redheaded child who had already disappeared with Ron.

"Yes," said Veronica as Dudley finally reached the trio, gasping for air from the thirty-step journey he had just finished.

"Hello there, I am Hermione Weasley" the woman said with a smile. Dudley managed to take one more small step to shake her hand and wheezed out,

"I'm Dud-" he began, but Hermione interrupted his introduction.

"Dudley Dursley."

"How do you know who I am?" Dudley had begun to dislike this woman, and wished he had captured Veronica before she had introduced herself.

"I recognized you from a photograph and all the stories Harry has told me through the years," Hermione explained.

"You know Cousin Harry?!" Veronica said in amazement.

"Know Harry? My husband, the one who just took Rose to the platform, and I are Harry's best friends!" said Hermione.

Dudley bristled. Of course the one wizarding family he happened to run into would be friends with his cousin.

"Now what is your name little lady?" said Hermione.

"My name is Veronica Dursley. So wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Weasley."

At that moment, the little boy who had been hiding came out from behind his mother and blurted "Hi. I'm Hugo and they won't let me go to Hogwarts because I'm too young. So consider yourself lucky."

This was all getting to be more than Dudley could handle and he grunted "Not that I don't appreciate the introductions, but the train is leaving in five minutes."

Hermione gasped and seemed to remember the rush she had been earlier. "Of course, come on Hugo, let's leave the Dursley's be so we can get to the train!"

Dudley began to panic as he realized the woman was going to leave without explaining how to burst through a brick wall. Then for the first time that day, he appreciated Veronica's forwardness. She called after Mrs. Weasley, "The thing is—the thing is—I don't know how to—"

"How to get onto the platform?" Hermione said turning around once more at the sound of the girl's voice. Veronica nodded. "Not to worry," Hermione said "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platform nine and platform ten. Don't stop and do not be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. If you're nervous, best do it at a bit of a run,"

Veronica caught Dudley's eyes who immediately recognized the same nervous excitement he had seen on Rose's face earlier. He would have to run at the brick wall with her.

Dudley grabbed his daughter's hand and jogged towards the wall. At the last moment Dudley closed his eyes, felt a small pinch, and found himself standing on Platform 9 ¾. He had succeeded. He had gotten his daughter to the station.

Hermione and Hugo appeared a moment later, and Dudley watched as they found Ron and Rose.

"Where have you been Hermione? The kids are boarding already," Ron said as he passed in front of Dudley.

"I met some friends on the way and had to lend a helping hand," Dudley overheard a flustered Hermione explain. "Ron, meet Veronica and Dudley Dursley"

"Blimey, so you're Dudley, I pictured you a lot… smaller," said Ron. As Dudley forced himself to be introduced to yet another wizard, he saw that Veronica was already bonding with both the Weasley children.

Dudley mumbled a few responses to the inquisitive Ron, and was about to make an escape to load Veronica on the train when he heard Hugo scream, "Uncle Harry!"

Dudley turned to see Harry scoop the boy into a bear hug. Dudley and Harry's eyes met, and Dudley was about to be forced into a conversation with his cousin when Hermione burst between them.

"No time to linger Harry! Children—CHILDREN . . . let us get a move on here, before you all get left!" The interruption gave Dudley a chance to find his daughter. Veronica detached herself from the Weasley s', and stepped towards her father. Dudley's face sunk as he lowered his body to be on her level. As soon as she looked into his eyes, to Dudley's surprise, she began to cry. "Daddy, I'm going to miss you so much I can't stand it. Who will make me breakfast? How am I going to make it by myself all the way till Christmas? What if I'm not a good wizard?"

Dudley was using all the strength he could muster to not reciprocate the water trend that Veronica was experiencing on her face. He held out his hand for her to hold, took a deep breath and said,"I love you more than anything in this world. I want you to have the best time at this school, you hear? And don't worry what the other kids say. You are going to be the BEST witch Pigpimples has ever seen."

She finally cracked a smile and protested, "Daddy its Hogwarts not Pigpimples!"

"I know it's Hogwarts, but you finally smiled" said Dudley. Feeling strangely eloquent for the first time in his Dursley life, Dudley continued "Us Dursleys are strong persistent people and you are going to be just fine. And when you come home for Christmas this year you're going to count THIRTEEN presents under the tree."

She grinned and yelled, "That's two more than my Birthday!"

With a piercing screech, the train bell whistled as a warning to the remaining families on the platform to hurry it along. Dudley and Veronica embraced for a long time before Dudley finally found his strength to let her go. She kissed him on the cheek took her trunk from him, and boarded the train. Dudley watched her search her way through the train looking for an empty seat in any of the compartments. Finally, she reached the compartment where he saw Rose and Harry's boy sitting. He could only imagine what Veronica and her two new friends were eagerly talking about. Dudley felt incredibly proud of his daughter.

He remained staring at Veronica as the train sent its last and final warning before going into motion. As the train chugged away, Veronica looked away from her newly formed trio of friends to wave good-bye. Dudley searched his little girl's eyes one last time, and as their eyes met he felt emotions he had never thought possible.

The train disappeared out of sight, and Dudley felt something sliding down his cheek. It was a sensation he had not experienced since he was a young child. Tears. Finally, everything that Dudley had been holding back was came out of him uncontrollably.

Behind Dudley, he heard Harry whisper "Accio handkerchief."

Suddenly, Harry pressed a neatly folded handkerchief into his cousin's hands. This gesture helped Dudley to finally understand that he would never escape this world. The thing that he and his family attempted to lock out of their lives was now very solidly locked into his.

"I tried my best Harry," Dudley whispered to his longtime acquaintance.

"I know. And that is all any of us can do," said Harry. His statement did not seem to ease Dudley who was still spouting tears and urgently wiping them away with the handkerchief given to him by the wizard. After some time passed Dudley continued with, "I still don't know if I can believe this . . . I mean is this really happening to me or is it all in my head?"

At this question Harry's head jerked up and Dudley felt a shift in his energy immediately. Softly Harry answered, "Of course, it is happening inside your head, but why on earth should that mean that it's not real?" With that statement, the men grew silent. Dudley was working through what Harry had just said like it was a math equation to be answered. After he had been quiet for a while, Dudley looked up and said, "Is she going to be okay?"

Harry smiled as he patted him on the back and said, "She's going to be better than okay. She has you."

35


End file.
